Since arriving at Boise State University in 2005, I have had the pleasure of teaching over a dozen different courses on film, literature, politics, language and culture. Three classes that I have created include a film class on the depiction of social outcasts in contemporary French cinema, a literature class on the representation of the femme fatale in French literature from the 18th-century to today, and a politics course on the French presidential elections. I find that my research interests are continually influencing my teaching and vice versa. In fact, my “Social Outcasts in French Film” course inspired me to research and write my most recently published article—“Reinterpreting Cinematic Utopia in Coline Serreau’s Chaos (2001)” (The French Review, April 2012).
I earned a Ph.D. in French from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a BA in French from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. My research combines theories of feminism and narratology (the study of narrative) as a method to examine the role and representation of women and otherwise marginalized figures in twentieth- and twenty-first-century French and Francophone literature and film. In my book, Wandering Women in French Film and Literature: A Study of Narrative Drift (Palgrave Macmillan, October 2013), I examine the destabilizing narrative effect of wandering women in 20th-century French film and literature. Currently, I’m researching the role of the female concierge character in 20th– and 21st-century French film and literature.
Thanks to Boise State’s affiliation with USAC (University Studies Abroad Consortium), I’ve been able to teach French film courses in Pau, France, to American students. While in France, I have been able to see—and hear!—Boise State University students use the French that they have studied in our classrooms in Boise. It is so very rewarding to see their hard work pay off as they express themselves in French to native French speakers.
Advising French majors and minors is an important and rewarding aspect of my work. If you are interested in pursuing a major or minor in French, please do not hesitate to contact me for more information.